{ "id": "R43004", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "number": "R43004", "active": false, "source": "EveryCRSReport.com, University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "versions": [ { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 419822, "date": "2013-04-16", "retrieved": "2016-04-06T23:30:39.024529", "title": "Public Mass Shootings in the United States: Selected Implications for Federal Public Health and Safety Policy", "summary": "This report focuses on mass shootings and selected implications they have for federal policy in the areas of public health and safety. While such crimes most directly impact particular citizens in very specific communities, addressing these violent episodes involves officials at all levels of government and professionals from numerous disciplines. \nDefining Public Mass Shooting\nPolicy makers may confront numerous questions about shootings such as the December 2012 incident at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, CT, that claimed 27 lives (not including the shooter). Foremost, what are the parameters of this threat? How should it be defined? \nThere is no broadly agreed-to, specific conceptualization of this issue, so this report uses its own definition for public mass shootings. These are incidents occurring in relatively public places, involving four or more deaths\u2014not including the shooter(s)\u2014and gunmen who select victims somewhat indiscriminately. The violence in these cases is not a means to an end\u2014the gunmen do not pursue criminal profit or kill in the name of terrorist ideologies, for example. \nOne Measure of the Death Toll Exacted by Public Mass Shootings. Applying this understanding of the issue, the Congressional Research Service (CRS) has identified 78 public mass shootings that have occurred in the United States since 1983. This suggests the scale of this threat and is intended as a thorough review of the phenomenon but should not be characterized as exhaustive or definitive. According to CRS estimates, over the last three decades public mass shootings have claimed 547 lives and led to an additional 472 injured victims. Significantly, while tragic and shocking, public mass shootings account for few of the murders or non-negligent homicides related to firearms that occur annually in the United States. \nPolicymaking Challenges in Public Health and Safety\nAside from trying to develop a sense of this phenomenon\u2019s scope, policy makers may face other challenges when addressing this topic. To help describe some of the health and safety issues public mass shootings pose, this report discusses selected policy in three areas: law enforcement, public health, and education. While mass shootings may occur in a number of settings, the education realm is one that has received particular attention from policy makers, officials, and the public alike\u2014at least since the 1999 shooting at Columbine High School in Littleton, CO. The tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary has renewed such concerns for many. \nIn the areas of law enforcement, public health, and education, this report discusses some key efforts to prevent mass shootings as well as efforts geared toward preparedness and response. Policy measures that deal with recovery are also discussed within the context of education and public health initiatives. \nPolicy Effectiveness and Outlay of Resources. Many of the policymaking challenges regarding public mass shootings boil down to two interrelated matters: (1) a need to determine the effectiveness of existing programs and (2) figuring out where to disburse limited resources. Finally, baseline metrics related to this problem are often unclear or unavailable. This lack of clarity starts with identifying the number of shootings themselves, since no broadly agreed-to definition exists. Several questions flow from this issue. How many people have such incidents victimized? How much does prevention of, preparedness for, and response to such incidents cost the federal government? What measurements can be used to determine the effectiveness of such programs? \nThis report does not discuss gun control policies and does not systematically address the broader issue of gun violence, which can include topics such as gun-related suicide and a wide variety of gun-related crimes. 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